LET THE BIBLE SPEAK.

*President Xi Jing Ping of China said:* As a small child , I was very *selfish*, always grabbing the best for myself. Slowly, everyone left me and I had no friends. I *didn’t think* it was my fault and I criticized others. But my father gave me 3 sentences to *help* me in life. One day, my father cooked 2 bowls of noodles and  put them on the table. One had an egg on top while the other bowl had none on top. Then he asked me to choose a bowl of noodles. Because eggs were hard to come by those days, I chose the bowl with egg! I was congratulating myself on my wise choice/decision and decided to wallop the egg. To my surprise, I saw that my father's bowl of noodles had *two* eggs at the bottom beneath the noodles!  With much regret, I scolded myself for being too hasty in my decision. My father smiled and *taught* me to remember that  *what your eyes see may not be true*. He added that, *If you make a habit of taking advantage of people, you will end up losing*. The next da...

Perversions of the Gospel . By James P. Needham Social gospelism invaded Protestant ism in the early 19th century in Europe and eventually spread throughout the Protestant churches everywhere. It followed on the heels of what is known as modernism. Modernism is a philosophy of biblical interpretation that denies that the Bible presents a divine pattern of authority, thus man is left to formulate his own concept of doctrine, church work, and worship. The gospel as God revealed it is pure, unadulterated, unmixed, stand alone, self-sufficient, self-contained, independent, and man needs nothing more, nothing less, and nothing else.  To know and appreciate the gos- pel one must be convinced of all the above. Throughout its history, how- ever, few have fully understood and accepted these salient facts. From the very beginning of the gospel men have mixed it with human philosophies and concepts in a vain and futile effort to help it out. Paul said to the Galatians, “I marvel that ye are s...

Hated for Christ's Sake Mike Willis Danville, Indiana The Lord foretold that the world would hate his disciples. He said, "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of this world, therefore the world hateth you" (Jn. 15:18-19). That the world would hate the gospel and its proclaimers has always baffled me. The gospel brings the greatest of blessings to man. I understand why the world should hate the liquor industry and those who sell it; alcohol has contributed to the break-up of many homes, many people losing their jobs, some becoming habitual drunks, many auto accidents, and many deaths. But the world loves its Budweiser and Busch. In contrast, the gospel saves men from sin, promises heaven at the end of this life, opens the door for men to have access to the throne of God in prayer, and gives present peace of mind, but men hat...

The Sufferings of the Saints Mike Willis The Lord Jesus foretold that his disciples would suffer persecution at the hands of civil government. Here are some of those predictions: But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles (Matt. 10:17-18). Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake (Matt. 24:9). But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought be-fore kings and rulers for my name's sake (Luke 21:12) They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service (John 16:2). The New Testament records the beginning of this suffering for the children of God. Stephen w...

Christians Persecuted By Nero Daniel W. Petty Arlington, Texas The first known persecution of Christians by the Romans came at the hands of the emperor Nero, according to ancient historians. Before this, the Jews seem to have been the source of all persecutions of the Church, as recorded in the New Testament. In the books of Acts, the Christians had little to fear from the Roman government. Roman magistrates and soldiers often saved Paul from the wrath of Jews and pagans alike. From the Roman perspective, Jews and Christians were indistinguishable in the early years, the latter generally thought to be but a sect of Judaism. Since Judaism was held to be a religio licita ("legal religion"), Christianity naturally enjoyed the same status. Nero became emperor in AD 54, at first a reasonable ruler who was fairly popular. Becoming increasingly infatuated by his dreams of grandeur and lust for pleasure, he lost this popularity, so that by AD 64 he was despised by the people; rumor h...

TEN SIGNS TO SHOW A MAN LACKS INTEGRITY, ACCORDING TO PSYCHOLOGY -By Tina Fey Integrity can be a little elusive – it’s all about actions, not words. A man of integrity walks the talk and shows consistency between his words and deeds. Psychology offers us a pretty clear roadmap to identifying those who lack this crucial trait. And it’s not as tricky as you might think. In this piece, I’ll be walking you through 10 telltale signs that a man lacks integrity, straight from the insights of psychology. Let’s get started:  1) Inconsistency between words and actions. Integrity is all about alignment – a harmony between what one says and what one does. However, when a man lacks integrity, this consistency goes out the window. His words don’t match his actions, and this discrepancy can be quite telling. According to renowned psychologist Carl Jung, “You are what you do, not what you say you’ll do.” This quote beautifully encapsulates the essence of integrity. A man without integrity might pr...

Hindrances in Understanding the Bible  Cecil Willis The Bible is a book given by God for the express purpose of directing man from earth to heaven. Its message is of such importance that without faithful obedience to it, one will be lost eternally in the lake of fire prepared for the Devil and his angels. It is a Book that must be understood above all others. So much depends on one understanding what it has to say. And yet one who is aware of these facts is almost driven to despair when he looks about him and observes the world’s unconcern and apathy toward God’s holy Word. People are pathetically ignorant of God’s Word. Bibles are rotting to pieces instead of being worn out. We live in an age in which there are more Bibles than ever before, but with our abundance of Bibles, knowledge has not been proportionately increased. Our children, in many instances, are much better acquainted with movie stars or passing popular singers, or with showmen than with the apostles. The...